Pulling back the curtain on Putin's propaganda machine. Images mixed by author.

A Russian Internet group called “Anonymous International” has leaked[1] what it claims is a “tyomnik[2]”—a list of prepackaged news stories prepared by the Kremlin for Russia’s central television news stations. The group does not name its source for the document, but the whistleblower says Vladimir Putin’s administration is the author.

The tyomnik[3] (see below for a translation of the first two sections) instructs TV journalists to justify Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea, to laud President Putin’s efforts to develop the region, and even to advertise Crimea’s tourist season, on which the local economy desperately relies. (Russian journalist Ilya Barabanov joked[4] that the talking points for Crimean vacations—“nearby, safe, among our own people”—are oddly similar to the slogan for the Sochi Olympics: “hot, cool, yours[5].”) The document also coaches television news stations to propagate an apocalyptic description of events in the Ukrainian heartland, where criminals and fascists supposedly run wild.

Russian television has long been infamous for parroting the Kremlin on political issues. It is still rare, however, that the public glimpses this propaganda system’s internal workings. If Anonymous International’s leak is genuine, Russians are getting to peek behind the curtain today.

Main points
1. It should be clarified that 23 years within an independent Ukraine largely degraded Crimea, and the authorities in Kiev are to blame. The goal of Russian authorities now is ensuring the emergence of a new life on the peninsula, bringing Crimea up to Russia’s national standards of quality of life.

Cleaning the Augean stables left by Ukrainian authorities cannot be accomplished overnight, but the work is underway, and Crimeans will be seeing it every day.

By order of Vladimir Putin, a number of key ministers will visit Crimea and Sevastopol. Next week, several other members of the cabinet are expected to make the trip, as well.

2. Please make an active effort in your work to promote the summer vacation season in Crimea: it’s nearby, safe, among our own people [“у своих”].

The bottom line for informational work:
- there is an atmosphere of lawlessness and growing chaos: nazis occupy key government posts, the Interior Ministry is paralyzed by fear (all the tough talk after the death of [Right Sector general] Aleksandr Muzychko has remained only words), crime is rampant, stupefied by its own impunity, and rising under the guise of “Maidan” activism;
- the economy is spinning out of control: money that was drying up before [Maidan] is still absent; a rise in taxes in the very near future has been announced, along with cuts to welfare benefits and a government budget sequester;
- in this context, bickering over power looks especially cynical.